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Mark Duplass admits that when he got approached about starring in Hulu’s Natalia Grace drama “Good American Family,” he was “very skeptical.”

“Look, there’s a documentary, there’s a movie called ‘Orphan’ that has similar themes, it’s been in the press. Why do we need another ripped from the headlines story?” Duplass told Variety Thursday night at the show’s Los Angeles premiere (and FYC event) at the Directors Guild Theater.

But after Duplass sat down with showrunners Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland to hear their idea of telling multiple different perspectives to explore hidden biases, he found the “Rashomon” type-structure compelling. “That was really exciting for me because it hasn’t really been seen in the miniseries format.”

The eight-episode Hulu series tells the true story of married couple Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Duplass), as they adopt Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid), a young girl from Ukraine with dwarfism.

The 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards eligibility period ends May 31, which means that the next two months will be packed with high-quality television as streaming services and cable networks release late awards contenders to keep them top-of-mind during voting. April is always a packed month for Emmy contenders, and 2025 is no different. Three past Best Drama Series nominees and one Best Comedy Series winner (Hacks) will premiere in April, as well as new contenders like FX’s limited series Dying for Sex, Apple TV+’s drama series Your Friends and Neighbors, and Prime Video’s drama Étoile.

These upcoming contenders want to compete with likely nominees already premiered, including Severance, The White Lotus, and The Penguin.

Here are 18 Emmy contenders premiering before May 31 that you need to know. Some are longshots, some are locks, and all are worth checking out.

Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney (March 12)

Twenty-time Emmy nominee and three-time winner...

Myriad has begun sales on horror thriller The Pond, a horror thriller starring Isabelle Fuhrman uand Douglas Smith that the company is producing and co-financing.

Production is scheduled to take place in Northern Ontario in the summer. The story follows grieving young parents who gather friends and family for a healing getaway in a remote lake house. When one of the group becomes a vessel for parasites, it threatens to infect everybody.

Jeff Renfroe, whose credits include The Colony and Syfy’s Chucky, will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ben Brooks. Thomas Michael and Nathalie Lichtenthaeler are producing...

Blumhouse horror movies tend to be somewhat polarizing. The company has produced plenty of hits, like The Black Phone, M3GAN, Get Out, and Happy Death Day, but it has also distributed its fair share of duds (last year was rough between Night Swim and Imaginary), making it hard to suss out whether or not upcoming films will be good.

But I have to say, the latest trailer for The Woman in the Yard has me excited, especially since it looks like this isolated rural horror film will lean heavily into some Flannery O'Connor/folk horror vibes. That, coupled with the fact it was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra—the man behind House of Wax, The Shallows, Orphan, and Carry-On—has me excited. Watch the newly released trailer embedded above.

Don't let her in

The second trailer provides us with more plot details. After the death of her husband, single mother Ramona...

After the relatively barren month of February and the awards season mercifully in the rearview, March finally brings the goods. From some of our favorite festival premieres charting all the way back to a few from Berlinale and Rotterdam last year to new documentaries and thrillers from accomplished directors, check out the batch of eclectic recommendations below.

15. The Empire (Bruno Dumont; March 7)

A year on from its Berlinale debut, where it picked up the Silver Bear Jury Prize, Bruno Dumont’s sci-fi feature The Empire is finally headed stateside. Rory O’Connor said in his review, “Playing his signature brand of rural French absurdity in stark counterpoint to the grandiose strains of a space opera, Bruno Dumont returns with The Empire: his Barbarella bourguignon, his dijionnaise Dune. The Empire is the story of two warring factions: one whose mothership resembles the palace of Versailles; the other’s as if someone glued together two Notre Dames,...

Jaume Collet-Serra’s follow-up to last year’s Carry-On is a Blumhouse horror called The Woman In The Yard. Here’s the new trailer:

Jaume Collet-Serra is known for making entertaining films that offer pulpy thrills. Audiences are renowned for enjoying such films. Why else would Carry-On, the filmmaker’s most recent outing have become Netflix’s fifth most-watched film of all time? A few theories, but y’know.

The filmmaker is adept at setting up high-concept scenarios and then letting them play out. From the high-stakes airport tension of Carry-On to Blake Lively’s surfer being marooned on a rock with only a shark for company in 2016’s The Shallows, Collet-Serra knows his way around a simple yet effective setup.

For his next film, Collet-Serra looks to be doing the same again – only this time with a lean back into horror territory. His next film is the Blumhouse horror The Woman In The Yard,...

Showtime has announced that Krysten Ritter and Neil Patrick Harris (Uncoupled) will join the cast of the Showtime original series Dexter: Resurrection. Ritter will guest star in the role of “Mia” and Harris in the role of “Lowell.”

Production for Dexter: Resurrection kicked off in January 2025 in New York and the series is set to launch in summer of 2025 on Paramount+ with Showtime. The new original drama series stars SAG and Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall in the titular role of Dexter Morgan.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

In addition to Hall, Dexter: Resurrection will also star Uma Thurman as Charley, David Zayas as Detective Angel Batista, Jack Alcott as Dexter’s son Harrison Morgan, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine as Blessing Kamara and Kadia Saraf as Detective Claudette Wallace.

Rounding out the cast are Dominic Fumusa as Detective Melvin Oliva, Emilia Suárez as Elsa Rivera, James Remar as Dexter’s father...

The horror thriller The Woman in the Yard, which is coming our way from Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures, and director Jaume Collet-Serra, was once set to reach theatres on January 10, 2025, but then it bumped off the Universal release slate entirely to make room for another Blumhouse / Universal collaboration, the Wolf Man reboot directed by Leigh Whannell. Wolf Man reached theatres on January 17th… and didn’t do as well as expected. Now, The Woman in the Yard is hoping to do better with its March 28th release – and with that date swiftly approaching, a new trailer for the film has arrived online. You can watch it in the embed above.

The Woman in the Yard has been written by Sam Stefanak, who was previously a staff writer and story editor on the Netflix animated series F Is for Family. Details on the story have been kept under wraps but, as the trailer confirms,...

Apple TV+ has picked up Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, a 10-episode series starring Emmy Award winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black).

The half-hour darkly comedic thriller, written and executive produced by creator and showrunner David J. Rosen (Citadel), is about a newly divorced mom (Maslany) who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will be directed and executive produced by David Gordon Green (Nutcrackers). The series, from Apple Studios and Counterpart Studios, was developed by and will be executive produced by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Films under their first-look deal with Apple TV+, and Bard Dorros for Anonymous Content.

Following her Emmy-winning turn on BBC America’s Orphan Black, Maslany had a main role on HBO’s Perry Mason and headlined Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She is repped by UTA, The Characters Talent Agency, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Rosen is repped by Anonymous Content,...

It's looking increasingly like the upcoming Dexter: New Blood sequel series Dexter: Resurrection is going to be incredible television. According to the latest Deadline exclusive, the latest star to join the cast is none other than Jessica Jones herself, Krysten Ritter. And not just that, but Ritter has been chosen to play a female serial killer in a guest role arc.

Deadline shares that the actress is playing a character named Mia Lapierre, described as "a renowned sommelier who may be hiding a serial killer secret."

Krysten Ritter has been cast as the ‘Lady Vengeance’ serial killer in ‘Dexter: Resurrection’ pic.twitter.com/BLjhSQ6VIw

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 27, 2025

DiscussingFilm shared a post about Ritter's casting on the social media platform X, claiming the actress will play the "Lady Vengeance" serial killer, though that was not confirmed in the Deadline article.

Ritter won't be the first female serial killer on the...

[Image @goodamericanfamilyhulu on Instagram]

Starring and executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy icon, Ellen Pompeo, Good American Family has just dropped its first trailer.

According to Hulu, the drama is “inspired by multiple stories, perspectives, threats and accusations.”

Hulu drops trailer for Good American Family with Ellen Pompeo [Image @goodamericanfamilyhulu on Instagram]

The series previously had a working title of Orphan, but has now officially been titled, Good American Family. Starred in and executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo, the series is set to air in eight episodes.

Meanwhile, the series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and the Midwestern couple who adopted her believing she was a little girl with dwarfism. However, things are far more complicated as gradually, it is revealed that she may not be who she said she was.

The series is set to premiere on Wednesday, March 19 with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly. Natalia Grace...

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Connecticut is one of the smallest, and more anonymous, of the 50 American states. With New York to the west of us and Boston to the east, the Nutmeg State has an unavoidable vibe of being stuck between two actually interesting places. I'm a lifelong Connecticuter, but I can't say we share the same fervor of statewide pride as, say, Texas does.

If we have a statewide reputation, it's for being a (new) haven of rich, sleepy suburbs — so no surprise that many of your favorite actors have settled in Connecticut. We gave Hollywood Katharine Hepburn, Robert Mitchum, Meg Ryan, Paul Giamatti, Seth MacFarlane, and many more. Plus, the stereotypes of the state make it a favorite for dramas and/or comedies (often both in one film) tackling suburban ennui. There's no real town named Stars Hollow, but "Gilmore Girls" gets the Nutmeg mood right.

Ellen Pompeo is ditching Meredith Grey’s scrubs for her new role in the Hulu series Good American Family. Pompeo, best known for her portrayal of the titular character in the long-running ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, is starring in the new series for the streamer in which she plays an adopted parent of a child that may not be as she seems.

Hulu just released the first trailer for Good American Family, and announced the series will premiere on March 19 with the first two episodes of the eight-episode limited drama series dropping that day. The show, which was previously going by the title Orphan, is inspired by a true story of Natalia Grace and the couple who adopted her believing she was a child with dwarfism. However, the couple started to think that she may not be who she appears to be.

Pompeo stars as Kristine Barnett along with...

The story behind Natalia Grace may finally be closed on the ID Channel docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace that came to an end last month, but the saga continues thanks to Hulu and their new dramatization of events in Good American Family. The eight-part miniseries stars Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo and Creep's Mark Duplass as Kristine and Michael Barnett, the parents who adopted Grace from Ukraine in 2010.

A new trailer for the series (seen below) showcases what's to come from the Hulu original, which bares a striking resemblance to 2009's Orphan, which, contrary to popular belief, was not based on Grace's story. "I've always considered myself blessed. I've known I was put on this Earth to build a world where all kids can feel safe," Pompeo says as the trailer begins. From there we see Imogen Faith Reid in her acting debut as Grace. "Are you...

Back in 2009, a horror film called Orphan told us the story of a married couple who adopts a 9-year-old Russian girl only to discover that she’s actually a criminal adult passing herself off as a child. The film was loosely based on the true story of Barbora Skrlova, a 30-something woman who pretended to be a 13-year-old and did some very twisted things that were very different than what we saw in Orphan. In 2012, a sad case that made it into news reports reminded people of Orphan. It was the story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born girl with dwarfism who was adopted by American parents who claimed to suspect she was much older than records said she was. The Grace case has been covered on Dr. Phil and the docu-series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, and now the Hulu streaming service is moving forward with a Natalia Grace-inspired...

Updated: Hulu has dropped the first trailer for Good American Family, the eight-episode series starring and executive produced by Ellen Pompeo.

Previously dubbed Orphan, the series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and the Midwestern couple who adopted her believing she was a little girl with dwarfism but gradually started to believe she may not be who she said she was.

The series premieres March 19 with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly. It also stars Mark Duplass and Imogen Reid. Dulé Hill, Christina Hendricks, Sarayu Blue and Jenny O’Hara are recurring guest stars.

Here’s the official logline for the series from Katie Robbins: “Told from multiple points of view, as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias, and trauma, this compelling drama is inspired by the disturbing stories surrounding a Midwestern couple who adopts a girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But...

While the official lineup of films at the Cannes Film Festival taking place in May won’t be made public until mid-April, there are already some early rumblings of what projects we should expect to see on that list and there are plenty of reasons to get excited.

That group of potential entries as compiled by Deadline includes directorial debuts with Kristen Stewart‘s “The Chronology Of Water” (still a chance it might not be completed in time), and Scarlett Johansson‘s “Eleanor The Great.”

Read More: Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Potentially Eyeing Cannes Film Festival Screening

Notable and high-profile films that are expected to screen at Cannes, pending official confirmation: Jim Jarmusch‘s latest effort “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother,” Spike Lee‘s “Highest 2 Lowest” (a remake of the Akira Kurosawa kidnap drama that stars Lee’s longtime muse Denzel Washington), Wes Anderson‘s...

It seems director Osgood Perkins can do no wrong these days, as after his 2024 low budget smash hit Longlegs thrilled audiences to the tune of $126 million at the box office, The Monkey is garnering rave reviews ahead of its release this weekend. Starring Theo James, the latest Stephen King adaptation is being heralded as a can’t-miss horror-comedy hybrid, but apparently there's another aspect of the film you should stay seated for: a post-credits scene.

According to Total Film (via Gamesradar) The Monkey's post-credits scene is not one that expands or adds anything to the film you just saw, but is rather a preview of Perkins' next horror offering, Keeper. There's no word on if it's a full trailer or just a tease, but regardless, it's definitely something worth staying seated for, as Perkins has easily solidified himself as one of the hottest genre directors around following the release of Longlegs,...

László Nemes’ post-World War II Hungarian family drama Orphan has sold to Portugal’s Midas Filmes, Italy’s Movies Inspired, Greece’s Spentzos Film Sa, Baltic’s Kino Pavasaris and ex-Yugoslavia’s McF MegaCom Film for Charades and New Europe Film Sales.

The film has already sold to Mubi for a multi-territory deal in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey. Le Pacte will release the film in France.

Set in 1957 Budapest after the uprising against the Communistregime, Orphanis about a young boy’s journey when a man appears from his mother’s past and...

Jaume Collet-Serra hit the gold mine when he directed Netflix's recent Christmas action flick, Carry On, which starred Taron Egerton as a Tsa agent blackmailed by a group of international terrorists on Christmas Eve. Carry On was a major success for Netflix, breaking into the streamer's Top 5 most watched movies of all-time list. Collet-Serrra is now back to hopefully make lightning strike twice with a new horror/thriller that has been described as a blend between Don't Breathe and 1917.

Per Deadline, Jaume Collet-Serra is set to direct Play Dead, a new original survival thriller. The script is being penned by Peter Stanley-Ward and Natalie Conway. Very little is known about Play Dead, other than its two main inspirations, which came from one of Deadline's sources. Don't Breathe and 1917 couldn't be further apart in terms genre. The former, directed by Alien: Romulus' Fede Álvarez, was a horror/thriller...

Jaume Collet-Serra is keeping the momentum going after the success of his Netflix thriller Carry-On. The filmmaker, known for House of Wax, Orphan, and The Shallows, has lined up his next project—Play Dead, a survival thriller.

Details about the plot remain secret, but sources describe Play Dead as a mix between Don’t Breathe and 1917. Don’t Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez, is a tense home invasion horror, while 1917, helmed by Sam Mendes, is a gripping war film. This description suggests Play Dead may combine elements of both, possibly blending high-stakes survival with a wartime setting. However, that remains speculation for now.

The screenplay was written by Peter Stanley-Ward and Natalie Conway. The film is being produced by Nocturnal, BoulderLight Pictures, Bad Grey, and Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures.

Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert are producing through Ghost House, alongside Akiva Nemetsky and Keaton Heinrichs for Nocturnal, Jd Lifshitz and Raphael Margules for BoulderLight,...

Fresh off the success of his Netflix thriller Carry-On, Jaume Collet-Serra has set up his next project, a survival thriller titled Play Dead.

Deadline reports that while the plot synopsis is under wraps at this time, Jaume Collet-Serra’s Play Dead is being described by sources as “Don’t Breathe meets 1917.”

Don’t Breathe is of course the intense home invasion horror movie directed by Fede Alvarez, while 1917 is the Sam Mendes-directed British war movie from back in 2019.

The implication here is that Play Dead is some kind of home invasion movie with a wartime setting, but that’s purely speculation based on what little we’re being told here.

Stay tuned for more on Play Dead as we learn it.

Peter Stanley-Ward & Natalie Conway wrote the screenplay. Nocturnal is producing alongside BoulderLight Pictures, Bad Grey, and Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures.

Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert will produce through Ghost House Pictures.

Exclusive: After scoring massive viewership with Carry-On, his Netflix action-thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman, which drew rave reviews in its December launch, director Jaume Collet-Serra has found his next project in Play Dead, a survival thriller described as Don’t Breathe meets 1917, sources tell Deadline.

Specifics as to the film’s plot are under wraps. Script is by Peter Stanley-Ward & Natalie Conway. Nocturnal is fully financing the project and producing alongside Ghost House Pictures, BoulderLight Pictures, and Bad Grey, with production to kick off at NantStudios in Docklands Studios Melbourne in May.

Akiva Nemetsky and Keaton Heinrichs will produce for Nocturnal, alongside Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert for Ghost House, Jd Lifshitz and Raphael Margules for BoulderLight, and Dane Eckerle for Bad Grey. Romel Adam and Jose Cañas will oversee for Ghost House, with Tracy Rosenblum overseeing for BoulderLight. Scott Greenberg of Lbi will exec produce, with Jazmyn Tanski overseeing.

Paris-based production company Haut et Court and London-based Good Chaos have officially secured the film rights to ‘Paris-Hollywood,’ the debut novel by writer and critic Cécile Mury. The two companies plan to bring the novel to the big screen as a feature film, blending the romantic charm of both French and English-language romantic comedies.

The novel follows the love story between a French journalist and an English-speaking movie star, exploring themes of romance, cultural differences, and self-discovery. Given its unique take on love and relationships, the book has already gained significant attention in the literary world.

Mike Goodridge, CEO of Good Chaos, expressed his excitement about the adaptation, calling ‘Paris-Hollywood’ “a charming and winning read” that intelligently examines “the nature of love and the limits we put on ourselves before falling in love.” He added, “We are thrilled to collaborate with our friends at Haut et Court to create a classic European rom-com.

Mena Massoud (Aladdin) is sending secret messages to Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan franchise) in an exclusive to Collider sneak peek of Wish You Were Here. Perhaps you missed the film’s theatrical run over the last few weeks or just want to relive the ugly cry-inducing story from the comfort of your own home. Whatever your reason, our first look at the film comes to coincide and celebrate the film’s digital arrival today, February 4. Dexter alum and the face of your teenage years, Julia Stiles, steps out into the world as a filmmaker with the title which serves as her directorial debut. As if a star-studded feature helmed by an industry legend wasn’t enough, the movie is also a must-watch for those who love a solid book-to-screen makeover, with the title serving as an adaptation of Renée Carlino’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Rod Blackhurst directed many short films and some music videos before he made his feature directorial debut with the post-apocalyptic horror film Here Alone. Since then, he has worked on Amanda Knox and John Wayne Gacy documentaries, as well as the Will Smith series Welcome to Earth, and directed the crime thriller Blood for Dust. Now, Variety reports that he’s moving ahead with a dystopian creature feature called Die by Night, and he has gathered a cast for the film that includes Isabelle Fuhrman of the Orphan franchise, Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody), and Scoot McNairy (Nightbitch).

Blackhurst is set to direct Die by Night from a screenplay he wrote himself, with Variety noting that the script is based on a prequel screenplay he wrote with J. Hunter Richardson that’s called The Chosen Few. So if Die by Night is successful, maybe we’ll see Blackhurst make the prequel The Chosen Few as well.

Back in 2009, a horror film called Orphan told us the story of a married couple who adopts a 9-year-old Russian girl only to discover that she’s actually a criminal adult passing herself off as a child. The film was loosely based on the true story of Barbora Skrlova, a 30-something woman who pretended to be a 13-year-old and did some very twisted things that were very different than what we saw in Orphan. In 2012, a sad case that made it into news reports reminded people of Orphan. It was the story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born girl with dwarfism who was adopted by American parents who claimed to suspect she was much older than records said she was. The Grace case has been covered on Dr. Phil and the docu-series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, and now the Hulu streaming service is moving forward with a Natalia Grace-inspired...

The story of Natalia Grace is getting a dramatization at Hulu, and we have our first look at the new series – Good American Family – which features Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo. Mark Duplass (Creep), and Imogen Faith Reid in her acting debut. Grace's story captivated the world in 2023 when The Curious Case of Natalia Grace premiered on Max, introducing viewers to a young girl with a rare form of dwarfism known as spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, whose age was called into question by her adoptive family, which subsequently abandoned her.

The first images for Good American Family (seen below) show Pompeo and Duplass as Kristine and Michael Barnett, as well as Reid portraying Grace. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the show was first announced in 2022 with the working title Orphan, and was created and executive produced by Katie Robbins. The eight-episode limited series will premiere two episodes on March 19 on Hulu, with...

Another beloved horror franchise was born late last year when Lionsgate announced that a third Orphan film was in the works. What began as an under-appreciated 2009 film about a child from hell is now cementing its place within the horror pantheon, and we're here for it. The first progress report on the status of the third film has been revealed, and it's quite promising. Isabelle Fuhrman, who brought the devilish titular character to life in the first and second films and is returning to reprise the role, has teased a tantalizing script for Orphan 3.

Ellen Pompeo is best known for her iconic role of Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy. Though after 20 years of playing the character, she's ready to be seen in a new light. And she hopes to do so in a new drama series, Good American Family.

Two of the best dramas on television right now are Grey's Anatomy and Apple TV+'s The Morning Show. I love Mark Duplass from the series, and so it's great that he and Pompeo will be playing onscreen husband and wife in the upcoming show. It's a very intriguing series based on a true story. And lots of us definitely like those. Here's 3 things to know about the Hulu series ahead of its release that have us excited to tune in!

Courtesy: Hulu Good American Family is coming in March

Good American Family premieres Wednesday, March 19, 2025 with the first two episodes on Hulu. After that,...

Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island offers a deep dive into the distorted reality of a tormented mind. Leonardo DiCaprio's U.S. Marshal, Teddy Daniels, travels to an isolated mental institution with his partner to investigate a missing patient. Strange things begin to happen as Teddy's investigation deepens. It turns out that there is more going on in the institution, but the real twist has everything to do with Teddy himself.

Psychological thrillers often offer viewers intellectual pleasure as they follow the clues to the plot twist. The endings of such films also tend to deliver mind-blowing, thought-provoking twists. Sadly, there's no sequel to Shutter Island. However, there are plenty of great thrillers out there that offer a similar experience.

Updated January 25, 2025 by Anthony Jeanetta. This list is updated to include more outstanding psychological thrillers that Shutter Island fans are sure to enjoy and match Cbr's latest style guide.

A third installment in the Orphan horror film series is currently in the works at Lionsgate. Isabella Fuhrman, who played the psychopathic Esther in the first two movies, recently offered some insight into the script for the upcoming Orphan 3.

"I've read the script, and while I don't want to give anything away, it's the only reason I would go back and do another one," Fuhrman told The Hollywood Reporter. "When they first said, 'We're going to make another one,' I was like, 'You guys are nuts!' But the script is so good. I was like, Ok! A hundred percent. This is a great idea, actually.' So I'm really excited for the fans of the franchise. It's funny to even say that because it wasn't a franchise when I signed onto it at nine years old. So I'm just really grateful that it has turned into something that is so much bigger.

Julia Stiles says 'Wish You Were Here' has become more "meaningful" in the time she has spent developing the film.The 43-year-old star has made her directorial debut on the romantic drama movie and she realised during the process of crafting it that the picture was perfect to make her bow behind the camera.In an interview with Collider, Julia said: "I actually had been looking for a really long time for the right story to tell as a director, and I was sent the book five years ago by an actress who's actually in the movie – she plays the best friend – and I fell in love with it. I guess she heard I was interested in directing, and she was totally right."The book really grabbed me. Actually, in the five years that we've set out to make it, it's only gotten deeper and more meaningful to me and feels more relevant.

Isabelle Fuhrman and Julia Stiles’ characters may have been at each other’s throats in Orphan: First Kill, but off camera, the two actors developed a bond that’s now resulted in Stiles’ feature directorial debut, Wish You Were Here. Stiles adapted Renée Carlino’s book of the same name during the making of the 2022 Orphan prequel, and in hindsight, Fuhrman can now see the ways in which Stiles was already beginning to envision her as the main character, Charlotte. The romantic drama chronicles the twentysomething woman’s storybook date with Mena Massoud’s Adam, only it ends with him ghosting her for a reason she never could’ve expected.

Fuhrman’s breakout performance at age ten in the cult hit Orphan (2009) made such a striking impression that it’s been difficult for her to shake one of the horror genre’s most indelible villains in Esther. Thus, she is...

Anyone who was around cinema in the early 2000s saw Julia Stiles take the romantic comedy genre by storm. 10 Things I Hate About You and Save The Last Dance were staples of any millenial film collection. She always had a certain something that made her stand out from other leads at the time. So it’s exciting to see her now take the directing route, as she embarks on this new path. A first film is tough, as it can really shape how an audience sees the types of films you’re wanting to make. And while I wasn’t a massive fan of the film (check out my review Here) there’s still plenty of potential for Stiles behind the camera.

I was able to speak with Stiles about her directorial debut, Wish You Were Here, and why she chose to adapt a novel for her first feature.

The following contains spoilers for Wish You Were Here, in theaters now.

Wish You Were Here has joined the ranks of popular book-to-screen adaptations and the list of heartbreaking movies. Based on Renee Carlino's novel of the same name, the film follows Charlotte (portrayed by Isabelle Fuhrman) and Adam (played by Mena Massoud) as they meet and form an intense connection. However, their happily ever after is debunked by Charlotte discovering that Adam has been diagnosed with cancer.

In an interview with Cbr, Fuhrman, Massoud and co-star Gabby Kono (who plays Charlotte's friend Helen in addition to serving as a producer on the film) discuss that gut-wrenching plot point and its importance to the story. They talk about forming connections with each other both on and off-screen to bring the audience into their world. Plus, find out why Fuhrman hopes moviegoers don't feel tricked by the film!

Cbr: Isabelle,...

Julia Stiles' directorial debut Wish You Were Here is now playing in theaters and enlists Isabelle Fuhrman as its female protagonist, a familiar face cinephiles might know best from the pair of Orphan films that have been released thus far. Fuhrman can also be spotted in the small but scene-stealing role of Diamond in Kevin Costner's first Horizon installment last year and will continue to shine in the follow-up. MovieWeb recently caught up with Fuhrman amid the release of her new Stiles-helmed romance film, where the acclaimed actress also took time to preview what's to come in Horizon: Chapter 2.

"There's definitely a lot more of [Diamond] in the second film," Fuhrman told us. "I'm really grateful we got to premiere at Venice, and I think they're just, you know, tacking up the horses and figuring out where they want to lead them. So I'm not involved in that in, like,...

With the recent release of Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney continues to revisit its beloved animated classics and breathe new life (or something) into the cherished stories, whether it be a sequel, spinoff, or live-action reboot. Back in 2019, Will Smith filled the shoes of fellow Oscar-winner Robin Williams when he took over the coveted Genie role in Aladdin for an acclaimed live-action take on the hit 1992 film, this time directed by Guy Ritchie. Mena Massoud played the beloved eponymous role and is now starring in a new romantic drama film directed by Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You), Wish You Were Here.

MovieWeb recently caught up with Massoud while he was promoting Wish You Were Here, now in theaters, where the dashing actor took time to say he's "100%" down to tackle a live-action sequel to his hit Disney flick. "That was such a fantastic experience," Massoud told us,...

Isabelle Fuhrman and Julia Stiles are reuniting for Wish You Were Here, where Fuhrman takes on her first leading role in a romance film. The romantic drama is adapted from the novel by Renée Carlino and follows Charlotte, a woman who has a deeply emotional night with a man, only for his disappearance to lead to a powerful reveal. Prior to leading the cast of the film, Fuhrman found acclaim in the horror genre, leading both Orphan and its prequel First Kill, the latter of which also starred her Wish You Were Here director Julia Stiles.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Stiles elaborated that while filming Orphan during the Covid-19 pandemic, she began adapting the script for Wish You Were Here. Stiles, impressed by Fuhrman’s talent and work ethic on the set of the horror prequel, saw her as the perfect choice for the leading role. This sparked a...

Ronnie Yeskel, casting director of “Pulp Fiction,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” died on Jan. 4 at The Motion Picture & Television Fund Retirement Home in Woodland Hills after an extended battle with cancer, AMPAS Governor Richard Hicks confirmed. She was 76.

Yeskel’s career in casting spanned more than three decades, including work across film and television. Her collaborations with Quentin Tarantino included “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs,” with other ’90s film credits including “Bean,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” and “Hope Floats.” In the early 2000s, Yeskel’s work included “Blade Trinity,” “Orphan” and casting Kieran Culkin in his first lead role in “Igby Goes Down.”

“Ronnie touched the lives and careers of so many of us with her passion and her talent,” said friend and actor Matt O’Toole. “She always fought for the actor with great respect and kindness. She was so joyful.”

Yeskel was born in raised in...

New Europe Film Sales has secured international distribution rights for “The Good Sister,” the debut feature from emerging filmmaker Sarah Miro Fischer. The film has already attracted significant attention on the global festival circuit, having previously won two industry awards at the 2024 San Sebastián Film Festival Wip Europa. Today, the finished film was announced as part of the Berlinale’s Panorama section.

Set in Berlin, the film turns on Rose, a young woman who faces a life-altering dilemma when she is asked to testify as a witness in a rape case against her older brother, Sam. “The Good Sister” is co-written by Fischer and Agnes Maagaard Petersen and presents a gripping narrative that explores the deep emotional ramifications the trial has on the family.

The cast of “The Good Sister” includes Marie Bloching as Rose, alongside Anton Weil, Proschat Madani, Laura Balzer, Jane Chirwa, Aram Tafreshian and David Vormweg. Fischer...

Blumhouse Productions has become a household name in horror, known for delivering chilling films like Get Out, Insidious, and M3GAN. Their next project, The Woman in the Yard, is set to hit theaters on March 28, 2025, and promises to be another spine-tingling addition to their collection.

The trailer has just dropped, showcasing a dark and mysterious tale starring Danielle Deadwyler, a BAFTA and SAG-nominated actress.

The story revolves around a family living in a secluded farmhouse who are thrown into chaos when a mysterious woman dressed entirely in black appears in their yard. She delivers a cryptic warning, and as she draws closer, the danger intensifies.

The film, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, explores psychological and supernatural elements. Collet-Serra, known for films like House of Wax and Orphan, teams up with writer Sam Stefanak to bring this eerie vision to life.

You can watch the trailer here:

The official synopsis reveals that Deadwyler’s character,...

Blumhouse’s next big horror flick is arriving in March, and it’s called The Woman in The Yard. Here’s the trailer…

This week sees Blumhouse deliver its traditional January horror release here in the UK. This time, it’s bringing us a reimagining of a classic Universal monster in Wolf Man, starring Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott with Leigh Whannell on directing duties. As you can probably imagine, it has a trailer.

Speaking of trailers, the studio has begun ramping up the promotional campaign for its next release, The Woman In The Yard, due on the 28th March in the UK. The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who most recently brought us the airport thriller Carry-On, now Netflix’s fifth most-watched movie in its history.

As for The Woman In The Yard, we now have a trailer for what looks to be a pretty high-concept horror. Here...

After making waves this holiday season with the wildly thrilling Carry-On, marking one of Netflix’s most-watched movies ever, Jaume Collet-Serra is back with two features in 2025. Before his Cliffhanger reboot later this year, he’s returning to his first full-blown horror feature since his 2009 breakout Orphan. The Woman in the Yard, which reteams him with Danielle Deadwyler, is arriving on March 28 in theaters and now the first trailer has arrived from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures.

Here’s the synopsis: “A lone, spectral woman shrouded entirely in black appears on a family’s front lawn without explanation and warns them “today’s the day.” Where did she come from? What does she want? When will she leave? Only The Woman in the Yard knows. Deadwyler stars as Ramona, a woman crippled by grief after she survives a car accident that takes her husband (Russell Hornsby). Seriously injured, Ramona now...

If a mysterious woman covered in black appears in your front yard, it's probably best not to let her in. That's what Danielle Deadwyler is dealing with in Blumhouse's The Woman in the Yard, which returns director Jaume-Collet-Serra to the world of horror after a series of (mostly) successful action films including Netflix's latest hit, Carry-On. Judging from this first trailer, it appears that Collet-Serra has not lost his horror touch.

The first trailer suggests that the title of the film is very much on the nose. Not a lot is revealed in terms of plot, but a woman shrouded in black appears on a family's front lawn without any rhyme or reason and issues a direct warning: "today is the day." Honestly, it's the best kind of horror trailer as it sets up an eerie atmosphere and offers up enough mystery to intrigue moviegoers. Where did the woman in the yard come from?...

It's a great day for horror fans! After Sony dropped the first teaser for its Until Dawn movie adaptation, Universal Pictures has followed suit with the release of the trailer for its new horror film, The Woman in the Yard. You can check out the thrilling official trailer above before continuing to read on to learn more about the movie.

We first learned of The Woman in the Yard back in February 2024. At the time, it was announced that the movie was in development at Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions. Jaume Collet-Serra, who is known for helming other horror films such as House of Wax, Orphan and The Shallows, was revealed as the director and an executive producer, with Sam Stefanak (F Is for Family) as the screenwriter.

The amazingly talented actress Danielle Deadwyler was also announced to star in and executive produce the film. While initially slated for a January 2025 theatrical release by Universal,...

The horror thriller The Woman in the Yard, which is coming our way from Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures, and director Jaume Collet-Serra, was once set to reach theatres on January 10, 2025, but then it bumped off the Universal release slate entirely to make room for another Blumhouse / Universal collaboration, the Wolf Man reboot directed by Leigh Whannell. Wolf Man is now scheduled for a January 17 release, with The Woman in the Yard following on March 28th – and with that date just a couple of months away, the trailer for The Woman in the Yard (which will probably be attached to Wolf Man as well) has dropped online. You can watch it in the embed above.

The Woman in the Yard has been written by Sam Stefanak, who was previously a staff writer and story editor on the Netflix animated series F Is for Family. Details on the story have been kept under wraps but,...

Up next from director Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax, Orphan, The Shallows) is the Universal & Blumhouse thriller The Woman in the Yard, and the first trailer has arrived to give an ominous peek at the eerie title character.

The Woman in the Yard releases in theaters on March 28, 2025.

Watch the new trailer below, which sees a lone, strange woman shrouded entirely in black as she appears on a family’s front lawn without explanation and warns them “today’s the day.”

Danielle Deadwyler as “Ramona, a woman crippled by grief after she survives a car accident that takes her husband. Seriously injured, Ramona now must care for their 14-year-old son and 6-year-old-daughter, alone in her rural farmhouse. Then one day the woman takes form in their yard.

“Ramona assumes the woman is lost or demented, but as the woman creeps nearer and nearer to the house, it becomes clear she...

Exclusive: New Europe Film Sales has boarded Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s upcoming feature The Love That Remains, his latest work after Oscar-shortlisted work Godland.

The sales acquisition sees the Warsaw-based company team once again with Icelandic production company Still Vivid and Denmark’s Snowglobe.

The new feature that was shot in Eastern Iceland under-the-radar and is due to be completed in 2025. According to the official description, the drama “tenderly captures a year in the life of a family as the parents navigate their separation. Through both playful and heartfelt moments, the film portrays the bittersweet essence of faded love and shared memories amidst the changing seasons.

New Europe will commence sales on the movie at the Berlinale’s European Film Market in February. Prior to that, the team behind the film will present first clips to attendees of Göteborg Nordic Film Market at the end of this month.

The...

Liam Neeson has starred in many action films in his illustrious career. In 2014, he starred in Non-Stop, which was a major commercial hit, and the film is now finding success on Netflix, too.

The week between Dec. 30 and Jan. 6 came with several new films on Netflix, and Non-Stop was among them, as well as Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 1 and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Neeson's action film, which also starred Julianne Moore, ended up beating both 2024 films for a higher position. At the end of the week, Non-Stop secured the sixth spot on the global charts with 4.2 million views.

Related Kevin Costner's Horizon Beats Furiosa at the Streaming Game on Netflix After Both Flopped in Theaters

Streaming services prove there are different platforms for films after disappointing box office runs, and Furiosa and Horizon prove that.

Neeson's 11-year-old movie was enough to keep Chapter 1 of Horizon and Furiosa away,...